Get on board with Extra Inning Softball’s regular feature, The Last Inning!
We are scouring the Internet and social media and keeping our ears to the street for the latest going on in the softball community.
To contribute information, insights, thoughts or content ideas, email us at info@extrainningsoftball.com and also los.extrainningsoftball@gmail.com.
Here’s our TLI for Monday, Dec. 27, 2021…
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EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: KIRNAN BAILEY
TLI has been a big fan of Dayton-committed Kirnan Bailey, a 2023 MIF/OF, for a while.
Her Homecoming/softball photos caught TLI’s eye on Twitter and Bailey, #74 in the 2023 Extra Elite 100, is one of the top players in Bill Conroy’s Beverly Bandits organization.
Let’s see what “Slapping is Life” Bailey has been up to:
Name: KIRNAN BAILEY
Hometown: Blacklick, Ohio
High School: Gahanna Lincoln High
Club Team: Beverly Bandits Premier-Allen 18U
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-2
Position: MIF/OF
Nickname: Big Body, KB, Deuce
Twitter: @deucebailey2
Honors: 1st Team All-District, 1st Team All-Conference, Golden Glove Award, Selected to Underclassman Central District All-star Game and Academic Honor Roll.
Travel Ball Highlights/Fall Stats: We had a great Fall, secured our bid to PGF Nationals and was part of the “Greatest Show on Dirt!” My team is so fast! From the top of the lineup to the bottom, we are all expected to run and run well. This is right down my alley, as I love to run the bases! Steals, bunt and runs, taking two bases on passed balls, taking chances, taking the extra base, going all out is what we are gearing up for this summer when it is GO time. I batted cleanup, I hit, I bunt, I chop, I dink and I dunk my way onto base. Sometimes it isn’t pretty, but I understand my role and what I need to do to move or score runners, and I do it all for my team! I love them.
High School Highlights: I love our high school team too. Our junior class is so good and I can’t wait to get the year started. We will have a new first baseman and need to fill an outfield spot that a few great seniors had held. We have great team speed and defense. We have a great pitcher and two excellent catchers. We just need to hit. If we hit just a little, we should cause enough problems on the bases. this team will make a run! I think I batted around .490 last year, didn’t strike out once, caused havoc on the bases and scored a lot of runs.
Super excited 2 announce my commitment 2 further my academic & athletic career at the University of Dayton! @FlyerSoftball So thankful for my family, teammates & coaches who have helped me along the way. Go Flyers!❤️💙 @banditsallen04 @BanditsRichards @Philyg16 @LarryMercurio1 pic.twitter.com/ftMRCb5xqk
— Kirnan Bailey #2 (@DeuceBailey2) December 21, 2021
Can you talk about what went into your decision to choose Dayton?
I chose Dayton because I wanted to be a part of a school where I felt at home and comfortable within the program. I absolutely loved the program’s culture and family aspect. Family is a big part of my life and talking to the Dayton players I could tell from their smiles and their tone of voice that they were so proud and honored to be playing at Dayton. The players gave me insight to what Dayton softball is all about and what made them want to go to Dayton. Through their stories and experiences they all talked about their team being one big family and that really inspired me and made me think that is what it takes to wear a Flyer uniform!
When I was talking to the coaches, I could tell that they were invested in me and really wanted me to be part of something great. Coach (Cara) LaPlaca was very inspirational, very easy to talk to and I never felt intimidated by her. I felt that I could tell her anything. I could tell from her love and knowledge of the game, it has made the Dayton softball program what it is today, one of the best in the A-10. I can’t wait to get on Dayton’s campus as an incoming freshman and help lead with those seniors because that is what I do best. I firmly believe that WE, together, are going to make a run at a National Championship with FLYER NATION!
What was your training/practice schedule like?
I have never been to a hitting instructor or anything like that, so my dad and mom taught me really everything I know about the game of softball. Also watching and imitating college girls on TV or watching Natasha Watley slapping videos on YouTube is where I started to learn the art.
When I was little, in the summer, my family and I would go to the field and work on defense almost every day. We would play mini games, for example, at the end of our workout. My siblings and I would each have to track down a fly ball and catch it cleanly for us to get go home. Those are memories that were so much fun! Then as I grew up and schedules became busier, me and my siblings had to find time on our own to hit off the tee and we would also long toss and hit ground balls to one another in the street.
We would try to help one another out and one of our favorite games was “Error.” If you make three errors in the game, you get out and the last person standing wins the game, and we would hit rockets at each other in order to make each other get out. My siblings and I make each other better. I usually hit and condition around three times a week in and out of season.
What were some of the things you did to get noticed by college coaches?
The biggest thing college coaches noticed was that I was really aggressive on the bases and not afraid to take chances. Also noticeably was my short stature, but Coach Lee/Larry Cray would put me in the cleanup spot even though I wasn’t a power hitter. I feel I did a pretty good job and teams wouldn’t know how to play me, so maybe coaches saw me that way.
But I think my biggest attribute is just being a true leader. Being vocal on the field, in the huddle, in the post-game speech, and leading by example by being at home plate first when a teammate hit a home run, or by the biggest cheerleader in the dugout. I really didn’t get the opportunity to go to a lot of camps. We have a big family and my parents work multiple jobs for us to play on these teams. My siblings and I go out in the fall multiple times a week and sell pizza coupons out of the paper for donations to help offset the cost of travel ball.
When I finally got to speak to the college coaches or the four or five camps/clinics I did attend, I wouldn’t prepare a speech. I would speak from the heart and speak from my feelings. Being genuine and honest is something that college coaches noticed. When at the camps/clinics, my parents would always tell me to be remembered and to make an impression. I would always be the first person in line every single time and would communicate with other players, be loud and cheer people on, have a positive attitude and do it with a big smile even if things weren’t going well.
*** Scroll down to learn more about Kirnan plus Extra Elite 100 players on the move and another 16 college commits…
